Shahab Zargari has published two photography books-one art anthology and a science fiction novel. His forte is editing film and video for sketch comedy, music videos, national TV commercials, and other film projects. Recently, he has stepped into the role of Director for the first time on the upcoming short film, Philip K. Dick's The Crystal Crypt.
I recently sat down with the fellow Las Vegas author to talk about his latest project.
What attracted you to this story?
I've been a Science fiction geek my entire life. I gravitated toward Philip K. Dick early on. He's one of my favorite authors in the genre. I hadn't read this story until 2012, and was amazed at the execution.
This piece was originally a short story that was published in a 50's magazine; only 30 pages long. There is no reason to add to it. As a matter of fact, adding to Dick's masterful work would take away from the fast-paced nature of the tale. Our goal is to make a good film and not waste the viewers time with a bunch of fluff.
Your inspirations include Hitchcock. What are some of your favorite Hitchcock films and how has he inspired you?
The biggest inspiration for The Crystal Crypt is the Alfred Hitchcock Presents TV show. These 20-plus minute episode all felt like well-rounded short films, many with unforeseen twists at the end. Not quite as out there as The Twilight Zone, but still very intriguing "stories with holes". The way Hitchcock would direct each piece was amazing because he would keep the audience in a shroud of mystery before the big reveal. Amazing stuff.
Describe process so far?
It's definitely a long and hard road to create a film of any genre, but sci fi is tricky in that there is a fine line between super cheesy and super alienating (pun intended). We wrap live action filming June 2013 and then jump head first into the animation sequences!